Conventionally, scaffolds, or a system of scaffolds, are made of a frame of metal tubes, bars or other beam members to form a lattice on which a plurality of scaffold planks rest. A common frame is made, for example, of one and one-half inch outer diameter tubes. The frame provides the vertical support for the planks, and the planks provide the platform upon which the workers, such as painters, masons, and carpenters, can perform their labor without worrying about continually moving ladders. The majority of the scaffold planks of the prior art are made of wood, metal, or plastic and are utilized exclusively for support purposes. What is lacking from the prior art is a scaffold plank that can be utilized both as a platform and as a means for storage.
Traditionally, workers on a scaffolding system would also have to bring with them a toolbox that holds the necessary tools for the job at hand. These toolboxes are often cumbersome and even dangerous because the workers can either trip over them or knock them over the plank. Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,666,342 by House attempts to address the issue of tool storage by providing a tray system that attaches to the scaffolding frames. Although this is a better alternative than a traditional tool box, it fails to provide a more permanent and safe storage alternative for expensive tools that can be lost or stolen during off hours. Additionally, the method of tool storage taught in House would not protect the tools from the elements and would require workers to remove the tools from the scaffolding structure at the end of each work day or during extended work breaks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,080 by Klimas teaches of a toolbox that directly suspends on a horizontal member of the scaffolding frame. Klamas's toolbox only utilizes a two hook system to suspend on the frame of the scaffold without any other means of security. Once again, workers would have to remove this toolbox and their tools from the scaffolding structure to prevent theft during off hours.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,102 by Brown teaches of a ladder system where the individual steps each comprises of a tool box system to store a variety of tools. However, Brown fails to implement its invention toward a scaffolding system and scaffold planks Brown's invention fails to address the need to secure the tools during off hours when theft of the stored tools become a concern.
Therefore, a need exists for a scaffold storage plank to function as both a support platform and as tool storage capable of being securely fixed and locked onto a scaffolding frame so that workers can easily access their tools while on the scaffolding system and safely store their tools on the scaffolding system without worrying about theft. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from a consideration of the following drawings and a detailed description of the preferred embodiment.